All It Takes Is One
by AZ1087653
Summary: Hunny uses his boyish charm to help Casanoda's cousin Linda overcome a sad situation. Even though he is 18 sometimes it does take a child to heal. This is just a friendship story but is rated T because of subject matter and language spoken by the OC.
1. Chapter 1

I came up with the idea for this story after seeing my friend's son comfort a complete stranger. Now said son is only seven, but Hunny's personality fits the same bill. Though Hunny won't show up till chapter three. There's a kind of perceptiveness children have and it comes in the most innocent form. I am not sure if I am even close to everyone's personalities, so we can just say this is rather OOC and AU.

I do not own anything except for the computer I am using to write with. I just like the characters.

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All It Takes Is One

Kasanoda Ritsu walked through the grounds of his home with a frown on his face. It was a beautiful day and he actually looked forward to going to school. Even though the girl, Fujioka Haruhi, had turned him down, he now had friends both at school and home. He noticed Sendou Tetsuya raking dried grass from around the vegetable gardens he had so meticulously started working on. The man was a good worker; polite and gentle. What's more, he was a friend with whom Kasanoda had learned to cherish.

"Kasanoda-sama!" The young worker called out, dropping the rake and walking toward the high school student. "Are you ready for school today?"

"Uh." Kasanoda grunted. He was ready, but was the girl in the room down the hallway ready?

/GG/

Kasanoda knocked on the door and waited for a response. It came in the form of a sigh.

"Are you ready for school?" He asked shyly. Why his uncle had to marry a foreigner was beyond him. What's more, why did said foreigner need to travel from Colombia to Japan just because her mom and step-dad were having a verbal spat?

The red haired young man looked at his new step-cousin's clothes. "What are you wearing?"

She looked herself over, then she pointed to her shirt. "Clothes." She pointed to her jeans. "Clothes." Then she pointed to her jacked. "Clothes." She looked at her new cousin with her eyes raised, "Looks like clothes to me Ritsu."

"You should wear that." The young man said as he bowed his head. He would never get used to her calling him by his given name without any sort of honorifics. The thought embarrassed him to no end and he was sure quite a few people in the school would be hounding him when she didn't use proper etiquette.

The girl looked at the dress. "That tent there is not touching me. I don't care if it is the proper uniform. I am going to rebel until I can go home."

Kasanoda understood where the girl, Linda, was coming from. It wasn't her choice to travel clear across the globe only to be dropped into the laps of a family she had never met. The fact that his family were yakuza didn't seem to bother her. The first night she had been in his home he could hear her crying for hours in her room. It took a lot of strength not to go and sit with her, for although she knew Japanese from his uncle, she was calling out in Spanish.

The boy didn't want to be a bother to her and his being shy didn't help anything. She wasn't exactly shy, but she was completely turned in on herself for the moment. What he wanted to do was introduce her to Fujioka and see if that little ray of sunshine could help his new cousin heal.

/GG/

The ride to the school was silent and Linda was perfectly happy that way. She didn't blame her new cousin for her predicament. In all honesty she felt bad that he was bearing the brunt of her unease. After that first day she had made a vow to make it up to him when she could.

Had she been almost anyone else the sight of the school looming in front of her would have caused her to all but pass out at the shear immenseness of the construction. That wasn't in Linda's character though, she was more interested in how elaborate the place seemed. Who in their right mind would build such a monstrosity that was completely economically unfriendly?

"Jesus H. Christ Ritsu, what in the hell is with this place?" She asked.

"This is Ouran, our school." The boy replied as he stepped out of the car and held out his hand for her. Surprisingly she took it and exited the vehicle.

"Where is everyone?"

"We're late because you had to argue over wanting to take your own lunch to school rather than just buy it." That response was completely out of character for the timid boy and he was waiting for some sort of verbal backlash. It didn't come.

"Whatever."

He led her into the school and dropped her off at the chairman's office. It would only be one short class day before he was able to speak with Fujioka. Then maybe his new cousin could become a little more amiable. As it was she scared even his father.


	2. Chapter 2

Thank you to everyone who read and commented on this little bit of crazy fiction. I don't feel very comfortable in this fandom really, I am more into original stories.

I am going to post chapters two and three at the same time; mainly because I did finish the story and just wanted to finish posting it. I have to beta it first.

As usual, I own nothing.

/GG/

Linda was not happy. After listening to the rantings of a few foolish old men she was finally able to go to her class; D. She had heard through the grape-vine that the D class was reserved for ugly people, yakuza, and those in the untouchable caste system. What year was this school living in? Obviously she fit into all three categories. She wasn't beautiful; just a plain person. Her family married into the yakuza. Her mother's family didn't have money. She wondered if the fact that all of the girls in this school probably weighed 30 kilograms while she was at least three times that put her into the ugly or untouchable category.

Ritsu was not in her class. Her cousin was a year younger than she, so she attended 2-D rather than 1-D. On a good note in her class though, she wasn't shunned. People were curious about her and she used the automated answers she had learned worked so well when discussing thing with people when she didn't want to discuss. Her main problem was the teachers spoke too fast for her to understand the lessons. It took a lot to program her Spanish understanding brain to understand Japanese without thinking about it, but her thoughts were still too slow for her to comprehend anything.

So instead of sitting in class and not learning anything she stood up and walked out.

/GG/

"Kasanoda-kun, your cousin walked out of class." A random aid said in the doorway of the cafeteria during lunch time.

He was seated next to Fujioka, trying to explain his cousin and his request from the girl.

"Where did she go?"

"That's what we wanted to ask you about. Did someone give her a tour of the grounds?"

The young man shook his head. He knew he hadn't and he doubted anyone bothered giving her the tour when they were already late.

"Sorry Fukioka, I need to see if I can find her. If she left the grounds she may not be able to get home. She can't read Japanese." Kasanoda made to leave.

"Would you like some help in finding her?"

Kasanoda smiled. Haruhi was the best. He nodded and the two walked out, leaving two very annoyed twins in their wake for approximately half a second before they too took after the aforementioned couple.

/GG/

Linda managed to find the classroom kitchens. Now just like any good Colombian daughter, she could cook. Her mother had been teaching her for years and it was one of the selling points when Linda had been 'auctioned' off as a bride a few times. In less than five minutes Linda figured out what was available and what she could easily make. Arepas Dulces con Manzanasit was.

After a few minutes of gathering and preparing she started on the sweet arepas. That was the hardest part since the cornmeal wasn't exactly what she was used to, but that didn't bother her. Soon there were at least 30 arepas cooling on the counter. The caramelized apples were easy and reminded her of the last party she had worked on with her mother.

"Running away from class isn't going to make your parents happy. Plus my father will have to be contacted."

She didn't look up from her work as she answered Ritsu. "I can't understand what the teachers are saying. They speak too fast for me."

He walked over toward her and watched her work. "Did you try telling them?"

"Oh yes." She said, wiping her face with her hand and leaving a trail of powder on her cheek. "It's completely fair for me to slow down the class because I can't keep up. There are 30 students in my class, I am sure the teachers are not going to slow down that much to help me out."

Kasanoda hung his head. She was right; it wasn't fair to the other students. Then again, it wasn't fair that she was being left behind either.

"We can talk to your homeroom teacher. Maybe he can make some special arrangement for you." He didn't even realize that he had slowed down his speaking when talking to his older cousin.

There was a slight smile on her face as she finished fitting apples onto the pastries. It wasn't much but he could see it.

"Thanks coz. I appreciate it." She said as she finished the last one.

"What are these and what are they for?" He asked, they smelled heavenly.

"Arepas with caramelized apples." She stated as she tried one. "They taste better with ice cream, but why don't you bring them to your friends."

"My friends and a few others are looking for you. I should go tell them I've found you and you can meet them." He said as he too bit into one of the tarts; they were good.

Linda watched Ritsu walk off as she set about cleaning the kitchen. She had no intention in meeting his friends. It would take just a few minutes to clean up and she could slip out the window and go home.

/GG/

Haruhi walked with Kasanoda toward the kitchens with Hikaru trailing behind, a venomous look on his face. No matter what the boy did he could never seem to break Haruhi's addiction to the yakuza. He wouldn't do anything about it or Haruhi would slap him again.

Within a few moments the trio entered the kitchen only to see it spotless, with a plate of tarts sitting on the counter. No one was in the room and Ritsu understood why.


	3. Chapter 3

Haninozuka Mitsukuni jumped around the room with the happiest of looks on his face as he swung Usa-chan around and around. It was a perfect day in his world when he got to spend time at school, eat cake, and make all the pretty girls squirm with delight. He was even more hyped up on that particular day because someone had left him a bubblegum flavored lolly on his desk during lunch. Haninozuka loved sweets.

"Takashi?" The petite blond sang as he jumped off the sofa and onto his cousin's back. "Where do you think Haru and Hika-chan are?"

"I don't know." Came the stoic reply.

"It's not like them to be late." The shorter of the two replied. "I think Tama-chan is having a nervous breakdown." He pointed to Suou Tamaki, who was about ready to implode in a corner.

"Relax boss." Kaoru said with an impish twang. "I know for a fact that Hikaru didn't run off with Haruhi or I would be with them."

"You disgusting twins." Tamaki cried out with over-exaggeration. "What has happened to my little girl?"

Kaoru rolled his eyes and went over to the sofa Hunny had previously been jumping on. It was too early in the day for this crap.

"Tamaki, I have reason to believe that any moment your 'daughter' as you so eloquently call her will be walking through that door. So why don't you stand up and act like an adult for a change." Kyouya deadpanned.

"Your words are like a sword being shoved into my breast Kyouya. How can you be so heartless when my daughter is missing?"

With that little burst of insanity the missing daughter walked in and spoke.  
>"I am not missing and I am not your daughter senpai." She had Hikaru and Kasanoda in tow arguing over how many pieces of tart each member of the host club should have.<p>

"Haruhi!" Tamaki cried out in joy as he ran toward her, only to get pushed to the wayside as she sidestepped and let him crash into Hikaru. The two hosts fell into an unceremonious pile on the floor.

"Wow boss, I had no idea you were into this?" Hikaru giggled when he realized Tamaki's face was planted firmly in his crotch.

Tamaki sputtered, stood up, and huffed before passing out onto the floor.

"I think Tama-chan needed a nap." Hunny stated from his perch atop Mori.

"I think Tama-chan has been reading too many Yaoi manga." Hikaru grinned evilly before walking toward his brother. "But he can never have me there, or anywhere else. The only one allowed to touch me and make me feel that burst of energy is you Kaoru."

"Oh Hikaru." The younger twin coddled his brother.

"Cut the crap guys, there are no customers here to see this shit." Haruhi snapped as she helped the semi-conscious Tamaki to his feet.

"Who says we're acting?" Both asked slyly.

Kasanoda, who was all but forgotten for a spell, walked over to Morinozuka and pushed a plate of desserts into the older boy's face.

"My cousin made these. I thought you could use them Morinozuka-sama." Ritsu babbled.

"Oh, what are they?" Hunny grinned as he reached down to grab one and pop it into his mouth. "Oh yummy! Those are good."

"She said they taste better with ice cream."

"Then we need ice cream!" The hyper blond shouted at the top of his lungs.

Mori walked his tiny cousin to the host club storerooms to find some ice cream.

"Where is your cousin Kasanoda-kun?" Kyouya asked. There were already pictures of the girl on his computer.

"She went home, I hope."

"You should invite the princess here next time." Tamaki said immediately turning into the host club king.

"She's not really a princess senpai."

"Nonsense, all girls are princesses, no matter what others say about them." The dramatics of the Tamaki taking effect as he pranced around the room. "I request you bring her here next time so we can be properly introduced."

Kasanoda didn't think that was going to happen. Still, he wanted to try to help his cousin so he nodded his head silently.

"We have ice cream!" Hunny shouted as he raced into the room carrying a carton of vanilla. "I can't wait to have another one."


	4. Chapter 4

After much pleading and even some groveling Linda agreed to visit the host club after school the next day. She had heard of host clubs, but being from a strict Catholic background she'd never thought she'd see one, even if it was just a school deal. Ritsu had been so desperate to get her to come she didn't have the heart to turn him down a second time.

So after class, which she had promised to stay the entire day for, she found herself walking toward the music room with her cousin beside her. She realized she liked her cousin, though in a different way than she liked her dozens of cousins on her mother's side. Ritsu was quiet, shy, and a complete gentleman when he wasn't embarrassed over something. Even the yakuza home was starting to feel more like home to her and she had a feeling it was because of the persistence of her timid cousin.

"This is it." He said opening the door for her.

She nodded her head and walked inside. Linda was quite taken aback by what she saw. There were boys dressed in coplay and dozens of girls fawning over them. Definitely not her idea of a good time.

"Ritsu, I don't want to be in this room with this…what the hell is this?" She hissed as all eyes turned toward her.

She could hear mumbles coming from throughout the room. She caught some girl saying that their faces were both scary. Another girl made a comment about her horrible outfit. One girl even went so far as to ask how an ugly person managed to get into Ouran.

"Well Ritsu, that's enough of this shit." She said with a scowl.

"Wait princess." A voice called from behind. Linda turned around to see what could possibly be saying that. A hand grasped hers and a blond kissed the top of her hand. "Welcome to the host club."

"Get your hands off me you pervert." She snarled as she slapped him across the face.

"Linda, he didn't…" Kasanoda began while all eyes were on the spectacle.

"He didn't what, Ritsu? He didn't just touch me without permission or put his slimy lips to my hand? I don't care what country you're from, no one should touch someone else without their permission."

Tamaki was too stunned to move and was rooted into place. Hunny had hidden behind Mori and was rocking on his feet. Hikaru had fallen onto his butt and Kaoru was too shocked to even bother helping him up. It was Kyouya and Haruhi, in sync, who stepped in.

"That was uncalled for…" Haruhi started.

"You should watch your manners…" Kyouya said at the same time.

Ritsu got down on his knees and bowed his head.

"Please forgive her. She is unaccustomed to our way of life."

"Get off the floor Ritsu." She sighed. "I don't need you to fight my battles for me." Linda walked over to where Tamaki was still in stone. "I'm sorry." She said holding out her hand as if to shake his.

Tamaki slowly came alive after that and tentatively took her hand in his. She shook slowly and he came alive again. "I knew you were a princess the moment I saw you." He bowed. "Forgive my uncouth ways hime-sama."

"Are you for real?" She asked looking at the handprint on his face from where she had busted him just moments before.

"I am as real as they come. Now tell me, what is your name?" His hand hadn't left hers as he pulled her further into the room. She turned and silently begged RItsu to save her.

"Uh…" She looked at the faces of everyone else. They were silent and glaring at her. "Linda." She managed to say as she finally took her hand back. "You?"

"I am the host club king, Suou Tamaki." He bowed again and gave her his most devastating smile. It didn't work. Tamaki knew he was losing her interest so he brought everyone else into his little world of perfection. "This is Ootori Kyouya, the vice-president."

Kyouya walked forward and extended his hand. Linda took it and nodded. "Sorry if I startled you." Then she turned herself toward Tamaki again. "Does it hurt?" She reached into the ice bucket on the table and put some ice in her handkerchief then applied it to his face. This caused the girls in the room to squeal in delight with a chorus of awwwwwwhs.

"Not anymore my princess." Tamaki said with sparkling eyes. "These two are Hikaru and Kaoru Hitachiin."

She looked at the twins. "Which is which?" She noticed the one with his part on the right was slightly shorter than the one with his hair parted on the left.

"I'm Hikaru." Said the shorter one with the right part.

"I'm Kaoru." Replied the taller of the two with a part on his left.

She continued staring, looking for other physical ways of telling them apart. There had been a set of identical triplets in her neighborhood and it had taken her a month to figure out which one was Guadalupe, which one was Maria, and which one was Ana.

"What are you staring at?" The two asked in unison.

"I'm trying to see what other ways there are of telling you two apart." She said monotonously.

"There's no way to tell us apart." The chimed in again.

"I'd rather look for other ways, such as your height difference, to figure out who is who when you are separate. Unless you want me to take a fingerprint sample each time."

A slight chuckle caught her attention and she watched Haruhi walk toward her. "You can easily tell them apart after you get to know them a little better. Their mannerisms are very different. I'm Fujioka Haruhi." The girl stated.

"Really…" Linda nodded. "Ritsu, come here a second." She whispered. Her cousin came forward and she whispered in his ear. "Why is there a girl dressed as a boy here?"

Ritsu's eyes got wide. "You can tell?"

"She doesn't have an Adam's apple." Ritsu was at a loss for words. "Relax, I won't say anything." Linda promised. "You can explain this later." Her cousin nodded and looked around nervously.

Tamaki decided to cut back in with introductions. "Over here we have Morinozuka Takashi and Haninozuka Mitsukuni." He introduced the remaining two members of the club.

Linda looked at the tall one and nodded slightly and then her face fell when she saw the shorter boy with big brown eyes and a bunny rabbit in his arms. Her breath hitched and she felt tears start to well up.

"I'm leaving Ritsu." She said as she turned and walked out of the room ignoring the comments being directed at her.


	5. Chapter 5

"What just happened!" Cried Hunny. "What did I do to make her leave Takashi?" Giant tears fell from the tiny teen's eyes and landed in large drops on the front of his uniform.

Mori stooped down and picked the boy up in his arms like one would pick up a baby.

All eyes were trained on Kasanoda who felt like melting into the floor. "I don't think I have a right to talk about it with all of these people here and in all honesty I don't know everything that brought Linda from Colombia." He wanted to die. "I can say that before she came it was not a happy time for the family."

"Hunny-senpai, don't cry." A random guest called out. "It's not your fault." Others chimed in with the same sentiment.

"They are right senpai." Kasanoda said evenly. "Whatever is going on with her has nothing to do with you."

/GG/

Later that night as Haninozuka sat in his kitchen with Usa-chan and a huge, multi-layered cake, he sighed. Even though the girl was scary, when her eyes were on him they had lost their edge and became sad. It was hard to remain happy when the very sight of you made someone sad. He couldn't even eat his whole cake, and that's saying a lot.

/GG/

Linda didn't even bother going to school for a week. She stayed in her room and listened to Tetsuya try to persuade her to come out for meals. The girl didn't leave her room for those either. The only reason she even showed up at school the following week was her mother had called and frantically begged her not to dishonor her husband's family, to which Linda told her mother to fuck off. She still got her butt out of bed and went to school.

There were no more crowds of people around her. Either the novelty of being a foreigner had worn off or people were worried about her behavior at the host club the prior week. She didn't really care. The lessons droned on and she sat in her chair listening to the teachers speak way too fast for her to catch more than 50% of what they were rambling about.

After classes she found herself back at the kitchens. She found out they were usually used in the mornings for classes and then again on Mondays after school for a cooking club. As it was Thursday there wouldn't be anyone bothering her. She pulled out the ingredients to make strawberry clafoutis, one of her favorites from back home.

It didn't take long to have the room smelling of pure heaven.

/GG/

Haninozuka Mitsukuni was walking the hallway, without Takashi, and halted at the kitchen door. He could smell strawberries! The vertically challenged senior jumped into the room and stopped short for a fraction of a second before bounding toward Kasanoda's cousin with his trademark smile.

"Hi Linda-kun! What are you making?"

Linda looked at the little ball of energy and willed herself not to cry. "I'm making strawberry clafouris; my mom and I used to make this when I was younger."

"Oh." His eyes were big. "I like strawberries. Can I have some?"

Linda wanted to smirk but she couldn't if she wanted to keep her composure. "Sure."

The silence that followed was uncomfortable so Hunny tried to make it a little more pleasant.

"Do you like your class?" He asked in a chipper voice.

"It's a class." She answered quietly.

That wasn't working.

"You know, Kasanoda-kun never did tell us your full name. Do you have a Spanish surname?" The youthful young man stated.

"My name is Linda Natalia Isobel Santiago Garcia-Kasanoda." She looked into the oven by turning on the light. Hunny came and stood next to her.

"They look yummy!" He said with a smile. "You have a lot of names."

At that comment she almost chuckled. "That's common where I am from. My grandmother's names were Linda and Natalia. My mother's name is Isobel and my biological father's name was Santiago. Garcia is my mother's last name and Kasanoda is my step-father's last name." She turned off the light and realized she was kneeling next to the older boy. It was kind of strange to know this person was older than she was.

"Do you remember my name?" He asked playfully.

"Haninozuka Mitsukuni." She replied as she stood up and started to clean the kitchen. It surprised her when Hunny started to help.

"That's right, you can call me Hunny. Everyone else does."

"What's wrong with Mitsukuni?"

The boy frowned. "Nothing I guess. What do you want to be called?"

"Good question." She answered with a faraway look in her eyes. "I guess you can call me Linda, that's what Ritsu calls me."

"How come you don't use proper titles?" Hunny asked. He did know that other cultures didn't have the Japanese honorific system, but she was in Japan so he thought she should follow the Japanese custom.

A breath caught in her throat. She knew the answer and that was because by acclimating to the new way of life made the move more permanent. If she ignored it then maybe she wasn't really there. Linda didn't want to say anything and she was saved by the bell.

"Look, they're done." She said with a fake smile on her face. She watched as Hunny jumped up and down and completely missed his curiosity.

She put one dessert on a plate and handed it to Mitsukuni who took a bite and immediately began to cry. "It's hot!" He wailed.

She grabbed the carton of cream and dumped some of it into a measuring cup and held it to his lips. He drank the thick liquid and stopped crying.

"All better?" She asked with genuine concern.

"Hai!"

Linda came around the counter and cut Hunny's cake into smaller pieces so it would cool down faster then went back to cleaning. This made the teen boy smile. She wasn't as scary as she let on.

"You should come to host club with me today Linda-kun. It would be fun." He realized he was late and knew that Takashi, in addition to multiple others, was probably worried sick about him.

"I can't afford to come to your host club. Unlike most of you I don't come from a rich family." The girl finished cleaning and put the rest of her cakes on a plate. She took one herself and started to pick at it.

"But Linda-kun, I am inviting you. You can be my guest today."

Hunny reached out a hand like a child would and Linda had a hard time saying no to a child.


	6. Chapter 6

The hyperactive little ball of blond hair and energy pulled Linda into the music room where he was immediately whisked away. Linda stood on the spot, motionless.

"Mitsukuni?" Takashi asked a whole slew of questions in one word.

"Hiya Takashi!" Hunny giggled, hugging his taller cousin. "I was in the kitchen with Linda. She made these yummy strawberry cakes and I like strawberries. I like cakes too. So a strawberry cake is extra delicious, ne Takashi? I'm okay though. It was nice." Then he leaned in and whispered. "She's a lot nicer than we thought."

Linda was ready to leave and had made to turn around and exit the room before her escort even knew she had gone. That didn't happen, of course.

"Linda-kun!" Hunny shouted running after her.

"Linda-kun?" Asked about 30 voices in the room. This was followed by various comments, including, "Since when has Hunny ever added –kun to anyone's name, or –san for that matter?"

"You should sit over here with us and we can eat more cake."

Linda ducked her head in embarrassment. This was almost too much for her at that particular point in her life.

The fact that Hunny didn't seem to mind her being there prompted Kyouya to get everyone back to work. Business was business after all.

/GG/

Following the closing of the doors after club activities ceased, Kyouya walked over to Hunny who was animatedly telling Linda everything she didn't want to know about…well everything.

He stood in front of her with a slight glare coming off his glasses.

"I am sure you are aware that we do not charge for our services, but we do expect some sort of compensation for taking up an entire afternoon of Hunny-senpai's time. Might I suggest buying one of his photo books?" Always the shrewd businessman.

"Uh." Linda blushed. She'd seen one of those books and knew that there was no way she could afford to spend 10000 yen on something so material.

"It's okay." Hunny said with a smile. "I invited her here today as my guest."

"Sorry." Linda stood up to make good her escape, finally. "I should be going." She nodded at Hunny and hightailed it to the hallway and then all but ran out of the building.

"Hunny-senpai, I know you like to see new girls come in and sit with you and vie for your attention, but we still need to make money somehow. If only one person doesn't pay then the others will start to get the same idea and the club will need to close."

"You really are a group of rich jerks at times." Haruhi spit. "I am sure you won't lose any money for her showing up one day and it's not like she dominated Hunny-senpai's time, she just sat there and did nothing for three hours."

"I am only thinking of the club. Hunny bringing a new friend who cannot help the club doesn't help me. I would have thought you were already aware of this Haruhi."

"Whatever." She scoffed and walked off to clean the clubroom and go home.

"Haruhi is right Kyouya. I hardly think one afternoon is going to hurt the club." Tamaki said in all seriousness. "Besides." He added with his flair for dramatics. "She did bring us cake."

"Which Hunny-senpai devoured before we could try any." The twins said in unison.

"True, but that's money the club has saved in the extra sweets he would have eaten." Tamaki pointed out.

"He's got you there Kyouya-senpai." Kaoru said.

"Those sweets you would have to purchase would cost a whole lot more than one afternoon of Hunny-sempai's time." Hikaru added.

Kyouya pushed his glasses up his nose and grinned. "I am merely pointing out that I don't want him or anyone else to make a habit of bringing in guests who cannot keep this club afloat." With that he turned and walked off.

"Harsh man." Kaoru said as he fell into a chair. Hikaru sat on the armrest. "You have a nice chat with her senpai?"

Hunny was fiddling with Usa-chan. "She has too many names."

"That's all you got from her?" Hikaru asked.

"Senpai, did you talk about anything useful, such as why she left the other day."

Hunny looked at his younger club mates with big eyes. "No. If she wants to tell me anything or anyone else anything she will. There's no reason to push because I know if someone pushes she will cry…and I don't like to see anyone cry."


	7. Chapter 7

Ritsu walked into the school with his head held high but his spirits low. Cousin Linda had refused to attend classes again and his father had been called in to speak with the headmaster. Ritsu, even for all of his 'issues' never had to have his parents come to the school. He wasn't the best student, but he did want to at least honor his family by attending when he should.

He watched his father enter the school slightly before him and walk to the headmaster's office. Then the future leader of the yakuza walked to his classroom. When he arrived to the hallway his eyes narrowed when he saw the evil Hitachiin twins leaning against the doorframe to his classroom.

"Yo Bossa Nova!" One of them called out causing Kasanoda to cringe. "You want to tell us more on the story of your cousin? Hunny-senpai goes by the kitchen every day to see if she's there and when she isn't he shows up looking kind of sad. Now it's great for business but bad for morale."

"Linda hasn't been at school since Thursday a couple of weeks ago. She can't keep up in her classes and is doing self-study at home through her old school in Colombia." It wasn't a complete lie, but it wasn't the complete truth either. She was at home, but she wasn't doing any sort of studying, save for the dice game Tetsuya had been trying to teach her. "She'll be back tomorrow." He hoped.

Kasanoda walked into this classroom and sat down at his desk. His father had finally found out why Linda had been shipped off to Japan and informed the youth the night prior. Had he known he would have left his cousin alone until she was ready to talk.

/GG/

Hunny walked through the hallway with Takashi by his side. They checked the kitchens, as was customary, and then headed toward the music room.

"Ne, Takashi, does it show that I feel worried."

"Yes, Mitsukuni." The gentle giant answered.

"Does it make me seem strange or different than normal?"

Takashi leaned over and picked his cousin up and placed him on his shoulder. "Mitsukuni, you have always been able to see the plight of others."

"I love you Takashi." Hunny said as he wrapped his arms around his cousin's head for a hug.

They walked a few more steps and then Hunny jumped down.

"Do you hear that?" He asked as he strained to listen. Takashi nodded. Both boys heard some sort of music coming from the 2nd music room down the hall.

Curiosity taking hold, they walked in the direction of the second music room, which should have been closed, and opened the door. Linda was sitting at the piano with headphones on her ears. She was singing some sort of Italian song.

Hunny jumped for a moment then ran and glomped Linda from behind.

"What in the sam hell?" Linda cursed as she turned to see Mitsukuni staring at her with starry eyes. "Mitsukuni, what are you doing here?"

The older boy laughed. "I wanted to ask you the same question."

"This is a music room." She answered as if it were obvious.

"But you don't make cakes anymore in the kitchen?" Those eyes were enough to make her want to cry.

"I don't have money to buy ingredients right now and I figured it better to stay away from your creepy vice-president. I don't want to have any sort of debt like that poor girl in your ranks."

"You know Haruhi's a girl?" Hunny asked before thinking.

"It's kind of obvious."

"Takashi, is it obvious?"

The silent one nodded his head.

"I guess it is. We don't usually think about it much anymore. Haruhi is just someone who dresses like a boy. How did you know she had a debt?" Hunny asked as he plinked on some piano keys. He couldn't play like Tama-chan but he knew what the notes were.

"I heard it through the grape-vine. In other words, I found out by accident. Not quite sure why anyone was keeping an expensive piece of work in a school anyway, but then again this school is ridiculous. The cost of that vase could have fed all the students in my school for a year."

Hunny's eyes got even wider. "Really?" Then he decided to move things forward. "Linda-kun, why don't you come and see me at my house this weekend? I will have a room made up for you and everything."

Linda looked from Hunny to Mori and back again. That face was so innocent she couldn't say no, so she said yes.

/GG/

"You did what?" Tamaki asked in mock annoyance once host activities had finished for the day. "Are we invited too?" He was on a kick to try and help the poor girl who obviously needed the host club's special brand of assistance.

"No Tama-chan. I don't think you can help this time." Hunny stated seriously. This comment sent Tamaki to his corner of solitude.

"Are you sure you want to help her senpai? It's not like you are getting anything out of is, save a few sweets every now and then." Haruhi asked.

Hunny smiled at his younger school mate. "I am a lot more perceptive then you think Haru-chan." He winked at her and stuffed a huge piece of cake into his mouth. There was no arguing with him when he made up his mind.


	8. Chapter 8

The rest of the week was a blur, for the whole three days after being invited to her senpai's house. Linda didn't know how to react since this person seemed to have her wrapped around his little finger. Ritsu was all but freaking out at the prospect of her staying over at a boy's house. He insisted on sitting down with her and explaining how it was inappropriate to have a sleepover with another boy in Japan, no matter what happened in Colombia.

"Ritsu, I can 100% guarantee you that what thoughts you have in your mind will not happen. So quit thinking like that." She informed her slightly younger cousin. "Besides, didn't you mention to me that people from the 'perfect' A classes never 'hook-up' with those of us from the untouchable's class?"

"You shouldn't call our classes that."

"Really? And what else are they?"

Kasanoda didn't know how to respond because she was right, they were considered the untouchables of the school. The only reason he was even known was because Haruhi remained his friend.

"Just be careful. That host club can be an unscrupulous bunch. You've been through enough."

"I am sure Mitsukuni only wants me to come over and use his kitchen to bake something. I am good at reading people too and whatever he wants is as innocent as a kitten playing with a ball of yarn."

"Even kittens have claws Linda." He pointed out.

"I'll call you tonight, so please don't worry." She rubbed her cousin's hair which caused him to blush and smile. He wasn't used to having an older sister type person in his life.

/GG/

"Uhhhh…Mitsukuni, what is this?" Linda asked as she indicated the limousine that had parked in front of the school to take her to his home after the last class of the day.

"We need a way to get home." He chirped as he opened the door for her to hop in.

"Isn't this a bit much?" She asked while trying to figure out how to climb to the seat without making an ass of herself.

"How else do you expect us to get home?" Mitsukuni jumped into the limo and sat across from her.

"The subway, walk, ride a bike, normal means of transportation would seem proper."

Hunny giggled. "For me this is normal. Want some cake?" He asked with big doe eyes.

At this she cracked a small smile and shook her head in utter amazement. How did this 18 year old boy remind her so much of someone so important in her life?

Hunny eyed his passenger while she rode in silence. He knew there was something she wasn't telling him or anyone else for that matter. It wasn't in his nature to take on these types of problems, but for some reason he felt that he would be able to help when no one else could. Call it his child's intuition or what you will, but there was something she needed to say and he wanted her to say it.

"Ne, Linda-kun, what do you want to do first?" He asked innocently. "We can spar?"

"Mitsukuni, I may be related to the yakuza by marriage, but I have no skills when it comes to fighting. If I did…" She stopped and Hunny knew he'd hit a nerve. "How about we bake cookies?"

This made him happy. "Yea!" He screeched and jumped over to her side of the limo. He plopped his head in her lap and let her rub his hair. It was comforting enough he could have easily fallen asleep, which he did not.

After a few minutes of comfortable silence he felt a wetness hit his cheek. Hunny looked up and saw tears streaming down her face. One had dislodged itself from her skin and dropped the foot between her chin and his face.

Hunny sat up and turned her face to his with a solemn expression in his eyes.

"It's okay Linda-kun. You can cry in front of me if you want to."

She nodded and broke down into hurting sobs. Hunny placed his arm around her shoulder and rubbed his head against her. Linda took that as a sign of comfort and turned to take the smaller boy in her arms. That was what she needed, someone to just hug her while she cried.


	9. Chapter 9

Hunny bounced around the kitchen gathering the ingredients Linda said she needed. After crying the entire trip to his house and taking a half an hour to clean herself up in the guest bathroom she had come out with a smile and asked where the kitchen was. Hunny was beside himself with excitement.

"Linda-kun, what is shortening? Is it this?" He asked holding up a container of white goop.

"Yes. That will work." She answered quickly.

He brought her the container and hopped up on the counter so he could watch her work. She was meticulous in her skill and he was fascinated that she could make cookies without a recipe or a measuring apparatus save a common spoon. Every now and then he would stick his finger into the batter and take a bite to which she would pretend to glower at him and then crack a smile.

"Do you want to help?" She asked as she stuck a spoon into the concoction and got ready to make the balls.

"Of course." Hunny turned so he could scoop up the batter and place it on the cookie sheet. Occasionally she would adjust the amount, but for the most part he completed the task without help. After he finished he licked the spoon clean while she put the cookie sheet in the stove.

"I should thank you Mitsukuni." She said as she turned on her senior. "And I should apologize for treating you like a child when it's clear you are not."

Hunny knew this was coming. No matter how he acted there was always a time when his friends, the ones he was close with, tried to speak to him differently in private than in school.

"You don't have to apologize Linda-kun. I am just being me and while I may be 18, that does not mean that I cannot be like Peter Pan." He stated matter-of-factly.

"I know you are just being yourself and I appreciate that because you remind me of someone I was once very close with. I am sure you are every bit as innocent as you come across, but you can still have adult thoughts and be innocent at the same time. I don't want to come across as degrading you, especially when I've been treating you like you are six rather than three times that age."

"Do you want to know why I am me?" Hunny asked with a cocked head.

Linda nodded and waited for the answer.

"It's because there is no rule that states someone my age has to act like an adult. That's just what people think because it's been passed down from generation to generation. People should do what makes them happy and things that make me happy are cake and Usa-chan. If I can't be happy with who I am inside then I can't be happy pretending not to be who I am."

The girl nodded at the boy and gave a slight smile.

"Hunny, if you are happy with who you are then nothing else in the world matters."

The senior in school squealed and wrapped his arms around Linda. "That's the first time you called me by my nickname."

She nodded her head. "I guess it is, isn't it? Is that why you insist on calling me Linda-kun?"

"No, I call you Linda-kun because I didn't think you'd appreciate me calling you Linda-chan and I didn't know if you wanted me to call you Kasanoda-san."

Linda contemplated the comment for a moment then nodded her head. "If you want I will let you call me Natalia. Someone very special to me used to call me that."

Hunny smiled. "You can keep calling me Mitsukuni, I don't mind."

Linda was at a loss for words, which didn't happen very often, and once again she was saved by the bell. The thick atmosphere dissipated and she took the cookies from the oven.

"Those look good!" Hunny said excitedly. He watched Linda take the cookies from the tray and set them on the counter. He reached for one only to have her push his hand away.

"These are hot Mitsukuni, remember what happened last time?"

"Yes," He answered slyly. "But I like it when you watch out for me. I don't need it, but I like it."

She giggled at that and handed him a cookie. "Don't start crying when it burns the inside of your mouth." She grinned.


	10. Chapter 10

This chapter deals with some harsh subject matter that is common in some places in the world. I have never known anyone to go through this subject matter and I hope I never do.

/GG/

The weekend progressed with more interruptions than were necessary. At one point everyone from the host club had called, though both Kyouya and Haruhi claimed they were only calling because they were bored. Hunny figured that Tamaki or the twins had gone over to one of their houses and insisted on the two of them calling. Mori called once but that was to remind Hunny to brush his teeth. Kasanoda called once to say Linda's parents had called to see how she was.

On Saturday night the two had been watching a movie in Hunny's room and both had fallen asleep on the bed. At some point the smaller teen had used Linda's arm as a pillow effectively keeping her from going anywhere, so she just relented and fell asleep herself. The next morning they were woken by Hunny's younger brother complaining of how perverted his alien brother was.

Linda watched as Hunny effectively kicked the younger boy's ass and made him apologize for having such thoughts about the girl. She almost felt sorry for the Yasuchika because Hunny didn't seem to hold anything back when it came to defending her or his honor.

After the fight there was another call from Tamaki asking if the host club could come over because he didn't like to be kept in the dark when it involved 'saving' someone. Hunny then had to spend an hour explaining why Tama-chan was calling so much. This is when Linda found out that Tamaki had a habit of wanting to help others. Linda felt herself shudder as she pulled out her wallet.

"Can I show you something?" She asked softly.

Hunny walked over and sat next to her on the bed she had yet to rise from. She was holding a picture of her and a little boy with dark black hair and big brown eyes. In the picture she was hugging the boy and they both had huge smiles on their faces.

"This is Junpei Renaldo Luis Garcia-Kasanoda, my little brother." She fingered his face with her thumb. Hunny could tell she did that a lot because the part around his face was starting to fade. He kept quiet because he knew he was about to find out why Linda was always so sad.

"A little over a year ago, just after Junpei turned six, he was kidnapped." She started. Hunny watched as fresh tears started to stream down her cheeks. "Someone had found out my step-father had ties to the yakuza and wanted to hold Junpei for ransom."

Linda took a breath before continuing. "It happens a lot in Colombia, where kids of well to do families are held for ransom and the families pay to get them back. Our family wasn't well off and it took a long time to get the money. Every hour we got a package sent to the door holding one of Junpei's little fingers."

She started to dry heave and Hunny rushed her to the bathroom where she fell over the bowl and emptied bile into the water.

She placed her hand in front of her mouth and wiped the horrible tasting fluid from her lips. Hunny grabbed a towel and helped her wash her face. Instead of leaving the bathroom she continued.

"When the sixth hour rolled around we got his hand. My baby brother was being tortured and there was nothing we could do about it. My father tried to get the money but that never happened. All in all we spent two days receiving parts of Junpei until finally someone sent his heart."

Linda looked over at Hunny who was crying right along with her.

"Mitsukuni, someone cut my baby brother up and took out his heart and mailed it to my family because we couldn't get the money." The look of horror on her face was enough to make Hunny feel light headed. He quickly wrapped his arms around her and let her sob into the crook of his neck while he silently cried right along with her.

She hiccupped. "You remind me so much of my little brother it's like I am seeing his ghost in you. He used to carry around a stuffed kitten that he called Koneko-chan like you call your bunny rabbit Usa-Chan. I could never say no to him and that's why I can't say no to you either. When I saw you and saw how similar your eyes were to his I couldn't take it. So I'm sorry Mitsukuni…I'm sorry I used you as a substitute for my little brother."

After a few minutes of sad silence Hunny spoke. "I'm glad I can help you heal. It doesn't take many people to help, all it takes is one."


	11. Chapter 11

Hunny wouldn't let her grieve after that. True to his nature he, in his child-like innocence, soon moved on to something else. That something else happened to be dragging Linda out the door and to a crowded place where she couldn't show being sad; Disney World. Linda had never been to a Disney World, so while she was still being the adult and trying to sort her feelings she was also a little excited.

"This is where all your troubles disappear!" Hunny shouted at the top of his lungs as he threw his hands up in the air.

Linda scoffed and mumbled under her breath, "If only I were still able to retain that quality I had when I was ten."

Hunny heard every word and smirked before pulling her toward the entrance. He purchased two all-day passes as well as some passes to attractions that cost extra. Then, completely in character, he bounced around between rides, food, and jumping on Linda's back for piggy-back rides. The girl found herself having a good time and realized that the place did make all of your troubles disappear, if only for a short time.

After giving into his big, sad eyes again, Linda finally won a stuffed rabbit for her senpai. He danced around in on a sugar high while being taped by various cameras. She heard various girls commenting on how cute the little boy was and how hot he'd be when he reached puberty. If only they knew, then again the Internet probably had pictures of every elite in the world somewhere, so it was a possibility there were websites devoted to Hunny.

"Ne, Natalia, are you feeling better now?" The teen asked as he wrapped his hand around hers and led her back to the parking lot after the park was ready to close.

"No, but I think I will be, thanks to you senpai." She bowed toward her senior and smiled to which he smiled back.

/GG/

Kasanoda was waiting at Hunny's house when they returned from Disney Land. He nodded toward Hunny and escorted his cousin to the Mercedes for the short ride home.

"What did you find to do with him? He seems so young that I wondered if you two were able to find common ground to even talk about." Ritsu asked as they turned onto the freeway.

"He may look and act like a child Ritsu, but he has the heart of a man." She answered with a yawn. "I think I am going to call my parents and discuss returning to Colombia."

Ritsu looked up with a start. "You don't like it here?"

She sighed softly. "That's not it, I just don't think I can learn here anymore. It's fine speaking slowly, but I have yet to grasp your language well enough to compete."

"We can send you to an international school."

This caused her to laugh. "What makes you think I know any sort of English?"

What she said was true, the international schools taught in English and no other language. It was actually harder to get your student into an international school than Ouran because not only was money required but fluent English skills as well.

"Do you think it's safe for you to return to Colombia?"

Linda pondered that for a moment then shook her head. "Probably not, but being a minor I can qualify for a visa and stay somewhere else with another family member. My mom has a brother who works for the Los Angeles Police Department, so maybe I could move to America."

"What about your new friend?"

"Who? Mitsukuni?" She asked and he nodded. "I don't think you'll have to worry about him. He's happy in his own little world of sugar and rabbits. If he wants to keep in touch there's this great tool called a phone." She said with a smarmy tone. "Besides, he reminds me too much of Junpei and I don't think I could move on if I had him running around like a cat on catnip."

The communal silence the ensued following their conversation was neither comfortable nor uncomfortable. Kasanoda didn't want to discuss the cousin he never would get a chance to meet. No one had told him that such an occurrence had happened. Then again, he lived in the yakuza world, so he should have expected something, anything to happen to his family.

/GG/

Hunny pranced around his house with Takashi in tow. Satoshi was following Takashi and complaining that Yasuchika needed to come and bond with the three of them. The younger Haninozuka was nowhere to be found.

After raiding the refrigerator of any and all sugar coated carbohydrates, Hunny sat with his cousins and told them about his weekend.

"Then I taught her to spar, which is good because she will go home one day and need to learn to defend herself if the bad people come back. I didn't know at the time how good an idea sparing was but it makes me feel much better knowing she might be able to defend herself. After that we fell asleep and woke up at midnight to have a midnight snack; she wasn't happy but she came with me and Usa-chan anyway. When the morning came she made chocolate chip pancakes in the shape of bunny rabbits. I put whipped cream and chocolate sprinkles on mine. Natalia told me I was going to get a cavity again so I brushed my teeth." He rambled on.

"Who is Natalia?" Satoshi asked. "I thought that Linda person was with you all weekend."

"That's the name she told me I could call her. I think her brother called her that and she likened me to him. It's really sad he died." Hunny hung his head for a moment and then turned toward Takashi with a smile. "I don't like that he died, but I never would have met Natalia had he not so even though I am sad for her loss I am happy for my gain."

Takashi took a deep breath. That was how the world worked; someone's loss was another one's gain.

Hunny continued with cake frosting all over his face.

"We went swimming in the pool, she'd never been swimming before so she was nervous about getting into the water so I pushed her in and threw her my inner tube. She didn't catch it though and I had to jump in and save her. When she found out she could touch the bottom of the pool I think she was really embarrassed because she turned red which was hard to see with her darker skin, but I saw it anyway."

That was how the night progressed at the Haninozuka house.


	12. Chapter 12

Haninozuka Mitsukuni sat with his ladies and regaled the tales of Usa-chan, much to their delight. He was happy to be where he was. It was Friday, the day before what was to be a nice relaxing weekend. Meaning that Yasuchika was at a tournament so he didn't have to have his guard up when he walked through the house.

"Pretty ladies, did I ever tell you that my late grandmother made me Usa-chan when I was little?" He asked with big eyes.

"He's so cute!" Was the response from the three who were sitting with him.

"I asked my grandmother to watch out for a new friend who is with her now. She can keep an eye on him till his big sister comes to take care of him again." He babbled through bites of strawberry and chocolate cake.

"He's so nice!" Another round of squeals.

"Ne, Takashi, do you think my grandmother did what I asked her to?"

"Yes."

"Yea! My grandmother was the best and now she can be his grandmother too."

Over in the corner a set of twins and a girl dressed as a boy were watching the conversation between Hunny-senpai and his group.

"I could have sworn he would have been sad that his new friend hasn't shown up since they separated on Sunday evening." Haruhi deadpanned. "It doesn't seem to bother him like it would bother Tamaki-senpai when a new friend of his goes missing."

"That's the difference between our little loli-shota and the crazy king. Hunny bounces back a lot faster, surprisingly." Kaoru stated.

"Did he even tell you what happened or is it just him and Mori-senpai who knows Kasanoda's secret?" Hikaru asked the older girl.

"He didn't tell me or anyone anything, which is why Tamaki-senpai sat in the corner brooding for an hour on Monday." Haruhi answered as she nodded toward her new customer. "I guess it's none of our business."

She wandered off to sit with the girl who had requested her.

"I feel very left in the dark right now." Hikaru stated.

"I feel the same way."

/GG/

Kasanoda walked down the hallway toward the 3rd music room; a man with a mission. In his hand was a bag full of cookies, tiny cakes, and lollies. He doubted the contents of the bag would last the hour if his last conversation with the tiny senior had anything to say about it.

The boy pushed the door open and nodded at Tamaki who was in the process of wooing four girls at once. He also nodded at Kyouya who was walking around and selling host club key chains to the masses. Haninozuka was sitting at a table with three girls who were squealing as Morinozuka brushed powdered sugar off his face.

"Hi Kasanoda-kun!" Hunny giggled when the boy stopped at the table.

"Haninozuka-senpai. Morinozuka-senpai." He greeted his seniors and then gave an embarrassed nod toward the girls at the table too.

"Whatcha got there?" Hunny asked curiously.

"Linda gave me this to give to you as a thank you." He shoved the bag toward the smaller man.

"Really!" Hunny dropped his fork and jumped over Takashi to look in the bag. His eyes went wide and he started to dance around the room. "She made me cakes and cookies!" He sang as he grabbed the bag and gave it a huge hug.

"How come she didn't come and visit herself?" Tamaki asked as he excused himself from his guests for a moment.

"She hopped a plane at two this morning for America." Kasanoda answered, even more embarrassed at having to say good-bye for his cousin.

"And she didn't have the decency to come here to say good-bye?" Hikaru scoffed.

"That's not very nice. What about Hunny-senpai?" Kaoru asked.

"Don't worry Hika and Kao-chan. Natalia called me last night before heading to the airport. She's going to America so she can continue school. It wasn't safe for her to return to Colombia and she was falling behind in her studies." The tiny teen said as he placed his new confectionaries on the table in front of his guests.

"And you knew this but didn't say anything?" Tamaki asked in shock.

"Nope." Hunny pulled out a card from the bag. It had a cute bunny rabbit on the front eating a chocolate cake.

"Then we're not privy to anything?" Tamaki pressed on.

"Nope." Hunny said as he read the card to himself.

_You were right MItsukuni, all it took was one. I just needed one friend to give me a push and now I can continue on. Thank you, Natalia._

"But senpai, you need to tell us what you did, what happened to her, why we weren't involved." Tamaki overstressed.

"Sorry Tama-chan, how about having some cake instead. It's really yummy." The look in the teen's eyes said that it was the end of the story, even if it left quite a few people very confused.


End file.
